Too Late
by tekken4life
Summary: In the aftermath of pain, there is nothing left... not even hope.  Sequel to The Object Of My Affection, Please R&R


**Too Late**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tekken or any of the characters.

**Author's Note:** OK, so I know it's late, and I'm really sorry, but better late than never right? A lot of people have been asking me for a sequel to _The Object Of My Affection_, and here it is. I hope you all will like this as much as much. This story is dedicated to my number one Tekken fan, FavUYA, who has been faithfully reading _TOMOA_ over and over – this one's for you pal! Please don't forget to leave a review!

"Don't you fucking touch me Kazama." The Korean's voice was barely audible, but the icy venom it educed sent a cold shiver running down the brunette's back. His hand froze in its path to comfort his lover, paralyzed by the spurn of his affection. Retracting it slowly, he brought it back to the safety of his body's vicinity. As he stared at the glistening copper of Hwoarang's head, he felt his mind fall slowly back into the same abyss it once called home. Born inside his head and nurtured by his heart, he could feel the heated bewilderment snake its way across his entire body. How an innocent trip back to the city turned his beloved Blood Talon into this swath of crimson mourning maybe unbelievable to most, but he already knew the answer. He had known the minute Hwoarang had called him about Lars. The unbearable break in his voice spoke of betrayal, and not the spontaneous kind – this was cunningly planned down to the last detail. It just had a different ending than expected, that's why everything fell apart… that's why he was falling apart now.

Jin took a step forward to bask in the redhead's radiating fury. "You didn't have to do all of that for him" he said softly. He immediately regretted his words. His dark irises softened as Hwoarang turned to face him, his face the epitome of brokenness. He would move mountains just to see that face light up for him, and only for him. Even in death, his uncle's grip on his lover was unyielding – how could he compete with a dead man? "I had to" said the Korean flatly, taking in Jin's every move through his soulless eyes. "He has… he had nobody else."

"I'm sure he had family."

"His mother committed suicide when he was fourteen." He tilted his head. "I think you of all people would understand" he said coldly. The deep inhalation Jin took to calm himself gave him a twisted reprieve by his guilty hell. He expected the clenched fist at the brunette's side to solidly collide into his face, but instead it opened and reached out to pull him closer towards its owner. The redhead lowered his eyes out of loathing. He couldn't bare to look at himself in the mirror anymore, much less Jin. Knowingly or not, their actions had cost themselves a life. Listening to the flimsy whims of their emotions had played out on the Swede, not themselves. "I did this to him" said Hwoarang hoarsely. "I drove him to do this."

"Look-"

"Please, just don't make this better. You can't." Jin pulled his lover closer into a tight embrace. He wished the Korean would shudder into his embrace and show some display of emotion. Fury, rage, despair…anything to show he was alive, anything to prove that the ice man he held right now wasn't the same person as the man he loved. "I love you Hwoarang" he murmured lightly, stroking the silken red strands with the most angelic of fingertips. "I love you more than anything else." He felt the Korean's body tense at his words. "You know Jin, there was once a time where I could say that too. Now I'm not so sure."

-xoxoxoxoxo-

The lush feel of grass against the redhead's back bothered him. He didn't mind the considerate tickle of the emerald blades, just the place where it took him to. The last time he'd been in a park was when he found rivulets of vermillion emanating from his Swede's head. That look of utter emptiness on his face, so wrongly robbed of life, permanently embedded itself in his head, haunting much more than Jin's face ever did. This time, he KNEW death was a reality. He didn't just see it, he could feel it. Every time he so much as thought about the happy times he had in the city, his heart would give sickening twists. He had done this… he had written his own fate, as well as taking away someone else's.

"Lars" mumbled Hwoarang incoherently. He stared up at the bright canopy of the park trees, nearly blinded by the flecks of sunlight shining through their leaves. It was a day like this when Lars had chased him down and convinced him to move on. He had held him through his tears and protests, kissed him ever so sweetly as if he would break and promised him that tomorrow would be better. He had foolishly betrayed all of that. "Lars, if you can hear me… I love you." A tender breeze cascaded through the green ceiling of treetops. "You're gone because of me… because of what I did to you." His eyes closed against the stinging saline film beginning to form in them. That last night, the Swede had stopped him from saying it. He still didn't know why, but he would say it now. Even though it was too late, he would say it to stop the pain. "If I could do everything over I would choose you." His heart lurched at the thought. How could he have been so stupid, so blinded by a sickening loyalty to betray such complete purity? "Every time" he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Too little too late, don't you think?" came a calm voice. The Korean's eyes immediately flew open to see Nina Williams cut lonely figure against the thick beams of light. The chips of ice blue entrancingly trapped in her eyes did a quick sweep of his body, judging him at every second. A slight smirk played on her thin lips when she noticed the redhead's expression tighten considerably. "What are you doing here Irish?" he asked coldly. Her eyes gave a sardonic roll. "What, no warm welcome?"

"Don't fuck around with me Williams." Nina's eyes narrowed sharply. She stared deeply into the Korean's eyes, her face softening sympathetically. "You have that same look he had."

"What look?"

"The one where you just go blank all the time because you can't bring yourself to feel anything. The one where you're completely devastated because you made the stupidest mistake in the world."

"You sound like you know a lot about it" sighed the Korean nonchalantly. The last person he needed here was Nina Williams. "Actually, I do" replied the blonde quietly, lowering her eyes to the ground. "And not just because I had my fair share of it." She let out a deep breath. "Did he tell you that-"

"Yes, he did." Nina laughed softly. "Well, he had that same look on his face the night I saw him."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm just saying. You must have been pretty special to him." The Korean gave an angry click of his tongue. "If you're doing this to make me feel like crap, congratulations. I've now hit a new low."

"I didn't come here to make you feel like anything. I just came here to give you this." With the deadly grace that could only come from an assassin, she fished a hand inside her pocket and threw a glittering chain at the Korean. The light metal stung the redhead in his face, but he caught it all the same – the one thing that he had to remember his true love by. "I found it in his apartment. I'd figured you'd want it."

"Why are you here Williams? This has nothing to do with you." She cocked her head at an angle. "You know, Irish people have feelings too." She averted her gaze once more. "He really did love you."

"That's what I keep telling myself. But it doesn't matter now, does it?"

-xoxoxoxoxo-

Hours passed before Hwoarang returned home. The guilt was becoming too much to bear, he was only human after all. Nina's visit served only to drive him further into the angst-ridden purgatory. How could he live with himself anymore? How could he go back and pretend that such a huge part of his life never existed? "Jin and I are over" he murmured quietly, running his hands over the front doorknob. "I'd rather be alone than go back to something that I didn't really want in the first place." He lowered his head tearfully, feeling his Adam's apple catch painfully against the back of his throat. "Forgive me."

The Korean had barely entered the house when he heard the voice echo darkly through the walls. "Do you even love me anymore?" The front hall was darkly lit. Hwoarang felt an ominous tingle shiver down his body. Damn Kazama, he always pulled off some sort of crap like this. "I don't know" said the redhead firmly, bracing his body courageously. His ears picked up on the ethereal silence piercing throughout the blackness. Taking a tentative step forward, he felt the familiar form of an iron tight fist drive itself into his gut. Wincing against the screaming fury of pain, he fought against another hand lay itself on his torso and shoved him down to the floor. If it wasn't for the pain, he would laugh cruelly. This wasn't magic – no Devil Gene here, just the unrestrained wrath of jealousy, of someone waiting to be loved. "What did he give you that I didn't?" Jin's voice was no longer the darkened silk it usually was: it had transformed into a gruff monster of its former self. The redhead's breathing came in short blasts. "He was there when you weren't" he spat venomously. Instantly, a loud cry of despair shook the air, distracting the Korean from the heavy body pinning him to the floor. "I AM here for you, damn it! I saw past everything, even the fact that you cheated on me!" Hwoarang's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You're not half of what he was" he breathed lazily. His words were costly – the brunette's hands gripped at his throat, nearly crushing it within their steel grip. The air in his lungs slowly disappeared, diffusing into the atmosphere in one, long exhalation. Gradually, he grew more and more disconnected, feeling his body defer into the searing blackness that had formed in his centre. So what if this was really happening? His purpose here was done. The only thing that separated him from Lars was that monolithic barrier of life and death. He would soon be home with the one that he loved. In the one moment before his last breath left his body, Hwoarang mistook the brunette's hopeless cries and burning black eyes for the sparkling memory of his Swede and said it for the last time: "I love you…"


End file.
